The government has a new web brand name. Directgov, unveiled this week by Andrew Pinder, the e-envoy, is supposed to replace the ukonline portal as first port of call to 2,500 government websites.

Pinder describes Directgov as a world beater. Unlike most other government portals, it carries its own material, designed around users' needs, rather than merely directing visitors to sites belonging to departments or agencies.

However Directgov falls a long way short of the "online government store" previously trailed by the e-envoy. Citizens will still need to go to individual agencies' sites for "transactions", such as filing tax returns online. Directgov's relationship with local government, which is responsible for most regular contacts with officialdom, is also unclear.

Directgov is the third generation of British government portal. The first, open.gov.uk, was a pure directory. UK Online, launched at the end of 2000, was a slicker production, with information grouped into "life episodes", as well as a news section promptly nicknamed Pravda.com. In January, ukonline had 800,000 unique visitors, which Pinder describes as a "respectable turnout".

However research suggests that most people still find government difficult to find on the web. In January, the Phillis review into government communications called for the creation of a single government e-delivery brand.

Pinder says that Directgov will greatly simplify contacts with government. The difference is between a travel agent and an airline: "UK Online acted like a travel agent, and suggested a holiday to you. Directgov should take you to the destination. We want to try to answer about 90% of queries within the site."

The site's new content is produced by government departments acting as "franchises" in topics of wide interest. The first three franchises are motoring, disabled people and parents. Information is grouped according to guesswork of what will be of interest: people looking for information about parenting are presumed to be concerned about road safety and drugs.

In a breakthrough for Whitehall, the franchises cross departmental boundaries. Pinder says that 18 government departments are already involved. "We think it's a world first in the depth of content and consistency," Pinder says. External links are labelled as such, to warn users of a change in look and feel.

A new search engine will search "the whole of government, not just the site". The engine is based on technology from the US-based specialist Verity. Its context-sensitive search engine was originally developed for the CIA (it is also used by the Guardian's website). The site as a whole runs on a content-management system called DotP, developed by the Office of the e-Envoy.

Directgov is mainly about central government. However, most of the specific things that people want are handled by local authorities, over which Pinder's office has no control. A "home and community" franchise, including information from local authorities, will be run by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), Pinder says, but there is no date for local information going on the site.

Another challenge is to promote the name. The UK Online brand was launched with enormous publicity in September 2000 to cover a whole raft of digital initiatives. "It is a very strong brand, but stretched," Pinder says. To confuse matters, the current website will live on.

The Directgov name is reminiscent of the first e-government initiative, Government.direct, launched in the final months of John Major's government. In development, the project was known as the Online Government Store (OGS), creating the impression of a place where citizens would interact with government.

In a submission to the Phillis review last year, Pinder said the store "will provide consumers with a truly integrated online offering. They may receive a leaflet through the door and visit the OGS website to carry out the transaction or register their details." The OGS would be one step towards a customer-relationship management system of the type used by private business, he said at the time.

Pinder says that it is a work in progress - "Disneyland with just the first few rides" - but that there are no plans for the site to host end-to-end transactions. For example customers wanting to book a driving test online have to switch to the Driving Standards Agency's site.

Pinder blames the complexities of joining up systems at the "back end" of government. However political caution may also be to blame. Pinder's immediate political boss, the Cabinet Office minister Douglas Alexander, is understood to be highly averse to taking risks with IT.